Mbala drops 32 in return
Dunking the leather with force. Soaring high for rebounds. Swatting shots. And even draining threes—twice to be exact.
That was how reigning league MVP Ben Mbala made a royal return last night as defending champion La Salle turned back Adamson 85-73 to gain a share of the lead in the UAAP Season 80 basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The 6-foot-7 Mbala hardly missed a beat following his stint with his home country Cameroon in the AfroBasket as he tallied a career-best 32 points, spiked by two triples, on top of 10 rebounds, four blocks and a steal, practically doing a little of everything for the Green Archers.
The prized Green Archers reinforcement already had 21 points in the first half alone where they raced to a lead as high as 24 before he came through with clutch plays, highlighted by a powerful two-handed jam off a spin against Sean Manganti, to keep the Soaring Falcons grounded.
“That was how we were expecting Ben to play following his AfroBasket experience,” said La Salle coach Aldin Ayo. “I just told the boys as if nothing happened, as if Ben didn’t leave and as if we’re still playing like how we used to in our first two games.”
The victory was the third straight for La Salle, enabling it to tie archrival Ateneo atop the field. Meanwhile, Ad- amson suffered its second loss in three starts and fell into a tie with idle host Far Eastern University at fifth spots with 1-2 records.
While Mbala lived up to his billing, Ayo wasn’t pleased with the way the Green Archers locals performed in the second half where the Soaring Falcons fought their way back and pulled within seven several times.
Cameroon import Papi Sarr had a double-double 12 points and 16 rebounds while guard Robbie Manalang tallied a team-high 16 points as they both provided the spark in Adamson’s doomed resurgence in the second half.
Earlier, National University outsteadied University of Santo Tomas, 94-84, to get its title campaign back on track.
The Bulldogs absorbed the best that the Growling Tigers could offer in the first 33 minutes then came through with a 17-6 closeout to give themselves a perfect tonic following a 115-109 loss to defending champion La Salle Green Archers over the weekend.
More importantly, NU jacked up its record to 2-1, tying idle University of the Philippines. Meanwhile, UST dropped its third consecutive game and joined University of the East at the cellar.
“Because of the experience we had against La Salle, we made the right decisions in this game. I’m just happy we’re gaining the experience we need in order for us to make a push in the second round,” admitted Jarin.